The BC Summer Games have just wrapped up in Abbotsford, and among the athletes was Nakusp’s very own Adam Volansky.
Volansky played box lacrosse, an indoor version of the typical lacrosse game. It’s his first year playing in the summer games, and only his second season playing lacrosse.
“Friends I played hockey with were playing lacrosse when the hockey season was over,” he said. “I wanted to play with them.”
Volansky plays with the West Kootenay Lacrosse Association. Their season goes from April to July each year.
During the lacrosse season, he travels to Castlegar once a week for practise. Along with lacrosse and hockey, he also plays soccer, and enjoys dirt biking.
He was encouraged by his coach to apply to BC Games to qualify for the zone 1 box lacrosse team. From there, the kids from the East and West Kootenays were assessed by the coaching staff of the summer games team while playing league games in Cranbrook at the end of April.
The team for the summer games is made up of 10 players from the West Kootenays and ten players from the East Kootnenays. The kids are from Nakusp, Castlegar, Trail, Rossland, Fruitvale, Cranbrook, Kimberly, and Elk Valley.
Before flying out to Abbostford for the games the lacrosse team met up in Cranbrook for some team bonding, something Volansky really enjoyed.
“The group of kids on my team was really fun to be with,” he said. “We gelled as a team really fast.”
Though they wound up coming in seventh out of eight teams, he said they went into the games knowing they would be competing at a higher level than anyone on the team was used to, and they did much better than expected.
Volansky was extremely happy to have had the chance to take part in the games.
“To be one of the few athletes who have had the chance to go the summer games from Nakusp is something I am very proud of.”